Quote:
Originally Posted by Calzone Lord
Obviously the performance of the year by anybody in a route race so far - was Flat Out yesterday.
There's nothing in his form you can point to and say 'that might be why he improved so sharply' other than that it was his first try in a one-turn race beyond 6.5 furlongs...and he's really just been a horse who's wanted a one-turn mile and up all along ... but damn, does that feel like a stretch.
I'm sure the Sheets boards are alive with talk of how his gut-wrenching effort is going to cause him to bounce to the moon.
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I don't think it was a matter of finally finding the right conditions (one turn route). This was the first time he ever strung 3 races together without imploding, and therefore finally ran his top effort (not that you could see it coming). Pure speculation, but he had a conspicuous one mile work before the Lone Star race, suggesting he might be short for that race. Add in the mere 2 week break between the Stephen Foster and the Suburban, and I think you can make a hindsight case that he was being raced into condition.
It's a stretch, too, but, I think it's more believable that he was simply "coming to hand".
What numbers did he get for that Fair Grounds allowance comeback? That seemed like a big effort off such a long layoff.